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‘Now 50′ finally ousts ‘Frozen’ from top Billboard spot

NO. 1 ON THE BILLBOARD CHART: This photo provided by NOW That's What I Call Music! shows the cover art for the "NOW 50," standard edition. The series has reached No. 50, a serious milestone for a physical sales survivor that's managed to navigate all the changes in our digital world to remain relevant, profitable and incredibly consistent since its U.S. debut 16 years ago. Photo: Reuters

By Piya Sinha-Roy

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The “Frozen” Disney princesses were toppled from the top spot on the weekly Billboard 200 chart on Wednesday by the latest installment of the “Now That’s What I Call Music!” compilation franchise.

The 50th edition of “Now…Music!,” which features hit songs from Pharrell, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars, sold 153,000 copies in its first week, according to figures from Nielsen SoundScan.

The “Frozen” movie soundtrack from Walt Disney Co, which has dominated the Billboard 200 chart this year with 13 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1, dropped to No. 2 this week with 99,000 in sales.

Other new albums in the top 10 this week include country singer Hunter Hayes at No. 3 with “Storyline,” Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan at No. 4 with “Shine On,” and rapper Tech N9ne’s collaborative album “Strangeulation” at No. 5.